5 years and a specific routine has made it a big change to go back to the club atmosphere! I love being with athletes that just simple love synchro!! It has made coming to the pool every day a joy and I spend way more time smiling during training than I have in the last few years.
These last few years I have been training entirely in the morning…. Now I am training around 7 hours a day in the afternoon/evening with morning practices as well! There is something about having 3 early mornings and 3 late nights that is making it just a taddddddddd difficult to adjust! I want to sleep in on the days that I need to wake up and then I want to stay up late on nights that I need to get up early the next morning…..
This year I have also added coaching to my schedule which has been a great experience for me. Adjusting to being a coach as well as an athlete is so fun! You need to have a plan, be prepared and always make sure that what you are saying is understood. It puts into perspective how to teach as well as how to listen to the needs of the athlete. As I am in this odd position of Athlete/Coach at the moment, I see myself in my swimmers, what I would do in the situation, how I would attack the correction and how I would need things to be explained in order to understand them in the water!
I also just recently experienced my 1st competition with my athletes and am so proud. Being a coach, watching an athlete perform a great swim and to actually see her SMILE while she swims (hahaha) is so fun. It’s a small thing to coach on the side, but it really does bring excitement watching young athletes understand, improve and enjoy synchro.
Here’s to new adventures!
Claudia Holzner 